Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $42.41 and last traded at $42.0060, with a volume of 142845 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WTRG. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.88 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $39.98 and a 200-day moving average of $39.23.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%.The firm had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a $0.3606 dividend. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Utilities news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total value of $112,915.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at $686,073.85. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 32.6% during the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 17,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 4,391 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 2.8% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Essential Utilities by 256.7% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 4,018 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities by 17.1% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 810,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,032,000 after buying an additional 118,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 2.9% during the second quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. now owns 26,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.